Material spreading box



June 9, 1953 s, J, DAvls ETAL 2,641,477`

` MATERIAL SPREADING Box l Samus/id. Davis Wil/pn Thomason WWW Hmm s. J. DAVIS ETAL 2,641,477

June 9, 1953 MATERIAL SPREADING BOX Filed Aug. 18, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

" Inventors Samuel Davis W/'lfan Thomason WWW VIII/[III] Patented June 9, 1953 M annimmt SPREADING BOX Samuel J Davis and .Wilton WrAThqmason, Brownfield, Tex.

Application August 18, 1950, Serial No.,18;199 eclaims. (c1. 2,7512) This invention relates to improvements in aggregate spreaders.

An object of this invention is to provid-e an assembly at the open end of a conventional, standard truck body which serves the `purpose of an end gate and an aggregate spreader,l said device consisting ofV a case or housing having a discharge slot at one end thereof and a valve arranged to open and close said slot, together with a means for operating the valve which 1s located adjacent to av platform upon which a worker may stand. l i

Another object of this invention is to provide an assembly adapted for attachment to a standard truck body which takesthe place of the conventional tailgate, whereby without serious modiflcation of the standard truck body an aggregate spreader is constituted, said aggregate spreader being totally devoid of any type of driving connection with any other part of the vehicle and avoiding the necessity of using aseparate and independent vehiclefor spreading the aggregate on a road.

Other objects and features'of importance will become apparent in following thedescrip-tion, of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawings: v

Figure l is a fragmentary elevational vlew of a truck body having the attachment applied thereto, the truck body and attachment being shown in the discharging condition in phantom;

Figure 2 is a back view of the attachment;

Figure 3 is a front view of the attachment;

Figure 4 is a top View of the attachment;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Figure 4 and 1n the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a part of the valve for controlling the discharge of aggregate from the truck body; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view substantially on the line 1-1 of Figure 2 and in the direction of the arrows.

The instant invention deals with improvements in the art of spreading aggregate on surfaces, such as freshly treated roads or roadbeds. It has been found that by omitting the tailgate of a standard truck body i6 and substituting a device to serve the purpose of the tailgate and a spreader for aggregate, material saving as to m1- tial investment may be avoided, inasmuch as .a separate vehicle for spreading the aggregate 1s not necessary and, moreover, the aggregate may be discharged due to the pull of gravity when the standard truck body is elevated at its. forward end about the pvot shafts l2 as an axis.

2 The attachmentconsists of a case or housing generally indicated at i4' and is adaptedv to be arranged in the open rear end of the truck body I6 and held in place-by means of the stay-bolts lr6 andA I8, respectively. These bolts have nuts at one end and are welded or otherwise rigidly xed to the side posts- 20y which form a partof the structural framingv forL the housing i4. A horizontal header 2-2is fixedby suitable means, as welding, to the vertical posts andI there is a cross. member 24 welded in place above the header for strength of construction.

'I'he case I4.` includes a rearA wall= 26 made of metal paneling and side walls 28 and 36 which are also of paneling and which taper outwardly andv rearwardly from the vertical posts 20. A bottom or bottom panel 32 isconnected tothe side walls 28 and 30.and is adaptedto rest'upon the bottom 34. of the standard truck body i0.

There isl a slot 36 formed inthe case alongthe lower. rear edge portion thereof and this slot or outlet for theaggregateis strengthened-by means of the angle framing 38 which is rigidly-'fixed to the bottom panel 32.y and. to the rear wall 26 near the slot 36,. Other framing, such as the angle 46, for exam-ple, may be employed whereverit is found `desirableto strengthenl the assembly and construction.

A platform -42 is fixed to the housing or casing I4 by means of a gusset plate 44 which is welded or otherwise rigidly fixed to the casing. When the body i0 and attachment are in tipped rearward position (Figure 1), the platform is employed to accommodate an individual whose job is to operate a valve generally indicated at 46 for controlling the rate of flow of aggregate through the slot or outlet 36. Such control takes place by operation of a handle 48 which is fixed to a valve shaft 50, this shaft being journaled in suitable openings which are formed in hangers 54. The hangers are welded, brazed or otherwise xed to the framing 38 around the outlet 36.

The valve 46 is made up of a plurality of smoothly curved valve plates (Figure 6) 58, each of which has a pair -of arms and 6| extending therefrom. At the outer ends of the arms there is a tube 62 through which the shaft 50 passes (Figure 7). There is an aligned pair of openings 64 in the tube 62 and an aligned pair of openings 66 in the shaft 50 through which a p-in 68 is adapted to pass. This pin is attached by means of a chain 'l0 to an eye l2, said eye being rigidly xed to the tube 62.

When it is desired to discharge a controlled quantity of aggregate, the loaded truck body is lifted to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The operator of the device stands upon the platform 42 and manipulates the valve handle 48. This causes each of the valve plates 58 which are coupled with the shaft 50 by means of their pins 68 to be rotated. As noted from inspection of Figure 1 the valve plate assemblies may be made of any width, to wit, the wider assembly shown'at Athe left side of Figure 4 and the shorter -assemblies on the right side thereof. The selection of how many of these assemblies should be used is left within the prerogative of the foreman or the individual in charge of Voperations whereby, by selection of one or Ymore valves to be used, the Width of discharge'Y may Abe selected. Having described the invention,- -whatY is claimed as new is: 1. An attachment for a truck body to'con'stitute a tailgate therefor,v said attachment comprisingfan aggregate spreaderwhich includes a housinglocated at the discharge end of the truck bodysaid housing 4.having a discharge opening therein, a shaft. mounted `for rotation adjacent vsaid discharge opening and; on the exterior of said housing, a; plurality Yof curved VValve plates, each valve plate having a -tube connected therewith, said tubes rbeing"mounted-rotatively upon said shaft mounting saidvalve, plates inv sealing relationship with said discharge opening, coupling pins for selectively securing said tubes to said shaft, and anactuator connected with said shaft for rotating the same whereby upon rotation -of saidshaft said valve lplates secured thereto are; operated. Y,

- 2. An attachment fora truck body to constitute a tailgate therefor, said attachment comprising an aggregate spreader which includes a housinghaving a discharge opening therein,'a shaftmounted for rotation adjacent said discharge opening and on the exterior of said housing, aplurality of valve plates, each valve plate having a tube operatively connected therewith, said tubes being ,mounted rotatably upon said shaft, coupling pins `attaching said tubes to said shaft, and an actuatorconnected with said shaft whereby upon rotation of said. shaft said valve plates are operated, said coupling pins being removably disposed in locking engagement with said tubes and said shaft so that a selected number of said valve plates may be rendered operative in response to rotation of said shaft, and at least two of said Valve plates .being of different size.

3. An attachment for a conventional rearwardlyftiltable dump truck body `to constitute a tailgate therefor, said attachment comprising an aggregate spreader including a housing adapted to be fixed at the discharge end of the truck body,saidhousing having a discharge opening therein along its lower rear edge portion, a shaft journaled. for. rotation on said housing exteriorally thereof, a plurality of valve plates, each of said valvey plates having a tube rigid therewith,

' said tubes being rotatably mounted on said shaft and vsupporting said plates in end-to-en-d relation, coupling means for selectively securing tubes ,to saidL-shaftan actuator connected with said shaft for rotating the same so as to move the vvalve plates secured ,thereto between open and closed positions,;anda platform `rigidkwith said` housing andfegitending therefrom at an angleyto `theplatre-tif-thhe bottom ofthe truck body -so as to occupy Ya Ysubstantially horizontal position when the truclg lbody with said attachment inA place thereon is moved into its rearwardly tilted position, said platform being disposed adjacent said actuator, whereby an operator can stand upon said platform to operate said actuator, and said coupling means.

f J.'DAv1s. z 'vvllzroriY W. THoMAson References Cited-inv the fileof` this patent Lutz 7 w i May-27, 1947 

